Apache 2.2 / Php 5 Update: Calling Files Behind Root

With my old Apache 1 and PHP4 I was able to pull files from behind the public_html using a php file without any problems. Is there a reason why this does not work with Apache 2.2 and PHP5?

the piece of coding below is what grabs the image. Right now i'm just seeing a red X for each image.

PHP Code:

        if ($private == 1) {
        header("Content-type: image/jpeg"); 
        $im = imagecreatefromjpeg('/home/site1/private/' . $type . '/' . $mid . '-' . $iid . '.jpg'); 
        imagecolorallocate($im, 255, 255, 255);
        imagejpeg($im); 
        imagedestroy($im);
        }